It’s been a while since I decided to boycott supermarkets and rely on organic, locally grown or distributed produce. Especially when it comes to veggies. Who doesn’t love the taste of those sweet ripe juicy tomatoes, mushrooms that remind you of earthly wilderness, greens that are lushious and crispy and roots that haven’t been scrubbed off their skins’ natural nutrients and that make your hands dirty when you touch them. Closer to nature.

After intense search for alternatives, I was suggested to look at organic veg box schemes by my colleague at work and, guess what? I fell in love with the whole idea right away. No more time-consuming shopping, heavenly real taste, a new creative challenge (I have never eaten or better so, prepared some of their stuff), eating in accordance with seasons and supporting local economy. No more supermarkets! I could swear veg box scheme made me eat a healthier and more nutritious diet because I just wouldn’t have bought so many veggies if I had to go through the supermarket process of pick and choose. For the first time, in this overly picky society, having no choice of the food on your table was a good thing.

But there it was… One cold winter evening, after almost a year of a faithful and comforting relationship with my veg box, I was walking with a very dear friend of mine on the South Bank when he cruelly told me that veg boxes are a rip off. Yes! Just like that. I couldn’t believe it and spilled all my arguments to support this brilliant idea for time-short urban dwellers. But I could not help it but investigate further.

Yes, we all know that veg box schemes are on the top of their (well deserved:)) trendiness these days and when you go online the websites resemble more of a upper-class shopping centre than a local farmer’s wholehearted attempt to sell his lovingly grown veggies. And yes, you can buy a veg box gift card with a personalised message, books, T-shirts, cups, wine, exotic fruit and overpriced pasta. ‘Do all good things get sold to Coca Cola and Tesco once they get big?’ – I was wondering in my head holding a carton of Coca Cola owned Innocent smoothie and drawing comparisons to veg boxes. Quite naturally, couple of days later, one chilly Saturday morning, there I was on my bike, ready for a 3 mile ride to my nearest farmers’ market in Oval.

I love riding my bike, the sun was shining and I had a spirit of an explorer, so the whole trip didn’t feel like a duty. I deliberately took £30 cash reducing any risk of overspending on those sinfully delicious olives, sun-dried tomatoes and cheeses they often sell in markets. ‘I have to focus on the basic veggies and make sure the food lasts for a week’ – I contemplated. Not many of us have a luxury of shopping multiple times a week!

Here I was in a muddy church yard in Oval. Couple of stalls – not too many, but with a lot of variety. ‘Go around first and check what’s available’ I warned myself in my head but in few moments I was already holding a gorgeous deep orange pumpkin, few apples and pears, fresh spinach, salad and eggs and waiting at the improvised ‘counter’. After paying my first £10 for the purchases I unconvincingly bounced to other stands. ‘Expensive’ I though comparing in my head how much I could have had in my veg box for this price. But on the other side of the market – actually it was the main side of the market, arrrgh – I saw another veggie stand with much better prices, more variety and, guess what???, many more people. I bought brocolli springs, spring onions, potatoes, fresh carrots, sweet pepper and payed another £5. ‘Good deal’ – I said to myself. The stand was heavy with ‘buy 3 bags for £3′ kinda thing that makes the whole difference.

Couple more stands and I was armed with a fresh organic baguette, half a kilo of those killer olives – I know, I know, but I was still within the budget! And summery red and tasty cherry tomatoes on a vine. A lot of them.

Damage done: more or less £30.

Products missed: I was upset I couldn’t find basil (for that home made pesto I was dreaming to make), mushrooms and unpasteurised milk, yoghurt and butter – my favourite dairy products.

Content with my purchases and full of bags I was contemplating on my journey back home on my bike. Yes, I have fallen off my bike before with shopping bags on my bullbars. After a thorough re-organisation on a bench in Kennington park I could actually move, even if with a lot of effort, and while slowly pushing myself forward I was thinking about the Planet Earth documentary I watched the other night. There was a Himalayan Puma and her prey. After the cat caught her prey it had a hard time bringing a heavy animal on top of a hill where her cub was waiting impatiently. ‘She needs to eat at least half of that animal before even attempting to struggle any further’ – I commented out-loud. But now it was all clear to me as well. Like that Himalayan cat I was struggling to bring the food back home completely untouched. To share with the loved ones.

So is veg box a rip off? I really wouldn’t say so. If you stick with your box (obviously depends on the company you are with – I am with Riverford) and don’t start buying individual items outside the box too widely, you get a really good deal. Can farmers’ markets replace my veg box love? I haven’t decided yet. But after cooking a delicious stir fry from the veggies I just bought I was sure I will come back there very soon. The taste makes a difference. And I feel I make more difference supporting real farmers, with real faces. Hey-ho for face to face contact!

Over the course of the last couple of months, I have completely fallen in love with the market which takes place in front of the Cathedral St Julien every Sunday morning. When we studied here in 2006/07 we lived out on campus, and there was no tram system, so getting to the market was an effort and as a result, only happened a couple of times over the course of the year. We didn’t have chance to get to know it and it seemed impossible to get your head round, and prohibitively expensive. How wrong we were…

Brightly Colored Veg- Blemishes and All

Shopping at the local Co-op in Sheffield has the immense power to suck the life out of any kitchen. The choice is limited, and the word “seasonal” only refers to whether the “random crap” section has Christmas selection boxes or Easter eggs. I think I can quite safely blame the market here for my renewed love of cooking and the existence of this blog. It is amazing, and is becoming more so every week. Sunday mornings are my favourite part of the week, and they have started to become more extended, so that a typical Sunday now consists of:

• Get up
• Drink tea
• Wait for Rachel, David and anyone else who may be joining us to meet chez moi at around 10am
• Go to market
• Humph ridiculous amounts of food home from market
• Make lunch, which recently has become less just one meal and more an afternoon of cooking and eating and experimenting with whatever we’ve bought
• Write lesson plans while eating

It’s a relaxing and delicious way to spend the day, and leaves us all in a great frame of mind before attacking the week ahead.

I’m getting to know which stalls I want to visit in advance now, and the people who work on them are beginning to recognise us. Our trip this morning was after an all-night cinema experience in Paris and I was pretty much a zombie when we arrived, having been awake for the previous 23 hours. My love for the market is that hardcore, I really won’t miss it if I can avoid it. So in my living-dead state of mind, it was lovely to arrive at the first stall and for the trader to comment on the fact that we turn up every week and only buy mushrooms from him. So I bought a couple of lemons as well, just to mix things up a bit.

Happy Fi at the Market

As Rachel’s pictures will show, we usually end up with quite a haul and for a ridiculously small amount of money. I always buy eggs, milk and bread there, as well as as much of a range of fresh vegetables as I can carry. I sometimes forget that I live alone and end up with more food than I can possibly eat in a week, but that’s most definitely a good thing.

I’ve recently started to brave the meat and fish stands as well, which has been interesting. I’ve cooked fresh scallops after learning how to remove them from the shell properly, mussels, boudin noir (a bit like black pudding) and some beautiful pork sausages. The only problem is that these stalls are a bit overwhelming. There’s so much choice, and so many things that I’ve never eaten before, never mind cooked. I want to branch out a bit, but will need to spend some time staring at the stands for a while before I make any rash decisions.

Seasonal produce is amazing. I’d forgotten how much of a difference it makes to the quality of the food. Because most of the stalls at the market are local producers, that means that the market changes on a weekly basis. It only seems two minutes ago that we bought 5kg of burstingly ripe tomatoes for 5€, but now few of the stands have any at all. We’ve also had a phase of eating artichokes and red peppers, but these are also fading away in favour of more root vegetables. I love it. And on that note, I’m going to stop writing and let Rachel’s pictures illustrate what I mean…

Fi's Market Haul

Rachel's Eats

Patty Pan Squash- A Recent Fall Arrival

Paper Bag of Mushrooms

(We go to the same mushroom guy every week because he uses paper bags which keep them longer)

Late Summer and Early Fall Mixture

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) – Grain aims to emerge as the local market leader as of 2013, he said without elaborating. “Our strategy is to become the leading player, not the monopoly on the Russian grain market,” Levin said. “We will seek to partner with existing market operators and traders.” Russia set a goal in June … Grain aims to emerge as the local market leader as of 2013, he said without elaborating. “Our strategy is to become the leading player, not the monopoly on the Russian grain market,” Levin said. “We will seek to partner with existing market operators and traders.” Russia set a goal in June of doubling grain exports to as much as 50 million metric tons within 10 to 15 years. The country, whose storage and shipping facilities handle just 40 percent of its annual crop volume, is building southern river ports and adding a terminal on the Black Sea next year. Ports on the Black and Baltic seas need more grain storage and handling capacity, and a new port is necessary in the Far East to boost exports, according to Levin. United Grain has a three-step strategy that begins with “establishing a prominent position” in Russia over the next year, Levin said. It will buy and sell grain on the state’s behalf to regulate prices and provide infrastructure for partners, he said. The government has set a target of attracting private capital into the industry as a way of financing some of United Grain’s plans, Levin said. To contact the reporters on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in Moscow at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net ; Yuriy humber in Moscow at yhumber@bloomberg.net . Last Updated: October 9, 2009 06:21 EDT

Source: Russian State Grain Trader Won’t Seek Export Monopoly (Update1) By Maria Kolesnikova and Yuriy Humber

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One of my favorite things about the market here is the meat vendors. Then again, I suppose I could start with a more general statement and say that one of my favorite things about France is the abundance of small specialty stores, not yet pushed out of business by Carrefour and other Wal-Mart-esque operations. It is simply wonderful to be able to buy cheese or meat or fresh bread from someone and have it truly be their specialty rather than a list of facts memorized from an employee handbook.

Now, back to the meat vendors. I don’t have any moral issue with eating animals in general, however I do find the meat industry unsettling to put it mildly (Upton Sinclair, anyone?). But at the market there are several small vendors who sell products they have raised themselves. You could ask them questions and probably even Google Earth spy on your next meal.

I spotted a small pork and sausage vendor at the far back end of the market last weekend and decided that fresh sausage and loads of local tomatoes would make for a fantastic ragu bolognese.

In Fayetteville I bought some local sausage and after reading a magazine article on one man’s search in Bologna for the original, true ragu bolognese I took the simplest form of the different recipes and gave it a go. The result made sure our French TA Medieval Literature study group prepared for our final on full, satisfied tummies.

Ragu Sauce Simmering Down

This time I bought 500g of onion sausage, so I skipped my usual base (celery, carrot and onion finely chopped and slowly sautéed in butter) and simply began by cooking the sausage in butter over low heat. I peeled my 2kg of tomatoes and added them in and they were so fresh and juicy the sauce took up a couple of inches in a large pot.

I let everything simmer down until it a thick sauce covered the sausage and added a bit of red wine. I let this cook for a while longer and then added a touch of heavy cream and served the sauce over some pretty tasty MonoPrix brand “gourmet” pasta (al dente, of course). I absolutely love this simple, hearty sauce. It’s like Italian comfort food.

Ragu Bolognese

Market vendors are practiced. This isn’t an occasional tourist event they are putting on- this is their livelihood. And they have learned the fine art of “free” samples like no other (Sam’s Club is put to shame). Bits of bread, fruit, cheese, and meat are all offered for you to taste along with a sales pitch while the vendor’s other hand confidently reaches for a sales bag. Because they know that once you have stopped long enough to taste their delicious goods you will not have the self control to walk away without the promise of further deliciousness resting in your very own bag.

This is how, after buying 2 kilos of tomatoes a piece, Fiona and I ended up buying a few more tomatoes from the man with the most delicious cherry tomatoes you can imagine. This is how we ended up with three types of cheese at La Fête de la Vache. And this is how David ended up with several types of sausage. He played it cool and walked away at first only to run back across the market to buy some for himself.

David brought some of his buys over for White Wine Wednesday, so our ragu was accomponied by chorizo and a wild boar sausage. The wild boar was especially delicious, giving me an unusual sense of Razorback (UA mascot) pride.

Arkansas Razorback

A delicious evening indeed, even if most of my clothes are now stained with tomato juice.

I’m writing the marketing section of my business plan. The obvious things are already being done: using my blog, making direct connections with local merchants, keeping a log of potential clients. But one of the best ways I’ve found is by being a travelling salesperson. I carry around a few notebooks in my bag and when people see me using one at a cafe or library, or I’ve gone out to dinner with friends and they’ve asked to see what I’m developing, they often want to buy the notebooks then and there. That’s made so much easier now with the paypal application for the iPhone.
I was mesmerised by the travelling salesmen in Northfork with their guitar cases of angels wings they were selling door to door. When the salesmen, who travelled in pairs, alighted from their cars the doors opened in unison, like wings unfurling.

What I want is some kind of folder like this made of an ultra lightweight nylon, reminiscent of the famous Prada backpacks of the nineties, that folds over on itself and has a few pockets, like a regular backpack, so it can be an unobtrusive backpack sample kit hybrid.

I got up at 5am, showered, grabbed my camera and headed out. I could hear the sounds of the traffic and the beeping of the motorbikes already, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened next.

It seemed like the entire Vietnamese population of the town had converged on the streets around the old market. There was all manner of buying and selling going on, especially as the fishing boats were all docking and unloading the night’s catch. There were all shapes and sizes of fish, prawns, shellfish, squid, octopus… the amount on display was staggering. Add to the that the streets were also filled with people selling fresh herbs, eggs, vegetables, even live ducks. Then there were the people buying, motorbikes coming through, people carting ice and so on. I spotted only one other tourist amongst the crowd, camera in hand, and enjoying the scene as much as I was.

From the market I made my way along the waterfront to the Japanese Covered Bridge. The atmosphere was markedly different with all the shops closed, but the streets were no less busy. In addition to the locals were other tourists doing their morning exercise, locals cleaning the pavements outside their homes, people eating at makeshift roadside restaurants, old people catching up on gossip, and dogs. There were heaps of dogs wandering about the streets. I guess their owners keep them indoors during shopping hours, so they were all out enjoying the morning air along with their keepers.

I made a wide circle back through some side streets, taking photos the whole way. I made it back to the hotel at about 7am. I took the free breakfast they had on offer. It turned out that ‘free’ meant for only two dishes. Anything else was extra. Oh well. I had a fruit shake, milk coffee and a banana pancake as I wrote a couple of postcards. I should have skipped the pancake as it was still too early for me and food to get along. Quick check of the email at the internet cafe. Their PCs are horribly slow and unstable. Internet Explorer took forever to load anything too. Next time I’ll take the laptop and save myself a lot of time, if anything.

It’s amazing what a difference a couple of hours makes. By 9am most of the shops were open and the streets were filled with tourists vying for space with locals trying to go about their business as well. There were motorcycle taxis on many corners touting for customers and children going door to door of the cafes hawking their wares as well as shopkeepers calling out to passing customers. It’s a very lively street scene.

I went to the Cargo cafe on a friend’s recommendation and asked for their Eggs Benedict as well as a coffee and a banana lassi to settle my stomach. The lassi and coffee came quickly and were marvelous. I settled in to watch the passing parade. The eggs were certainly taking their time so I called over the waitress, who thought I wanted the bill! I ended up getting a menu and ordering the eggs plus another lassi and coffee. She didn’t know what Eggs Benedict was, in fact it was listed on the menu as the ‘poached eggs breakfast’. My mistake. She asked me to write it down for her so they’d know in the future. Even on holiday I can’t escape being an English teacher! It was a pleasure though since the eggs duly came and were lovely.  The Cargo was a patisserie with some lovely looking cakes in the refrigerated display inside the shop. The shop staff were lively and there was plenty of joyful noise coming from the kitchen area.

After my early brunch I went and bought a t-shirt as a souvenir. They had large sizes, so I had no trouble getting one that fit.

Back to the hotel by 10:30am, feeling like I’d already put in a full day’s effort!

I left again about 12:30. I took the backpack with me this time to take the laptop to the Rendezvouz Cafe Art Gallery, where I’d had such a lovely experience yesterday and use their free wi-fi, but also to perhaps buy a couple of things. It’s a good cause, so why not? I also wanted to pick up some lacquerware, since some of it looked so fantastic. The post office could package up all my purchases to send back to Japan in one go. I purchased a bottle of Coke on the way so I could add to my collection. I try to get a small glass bottle of Coke in every country I go to, since it’s a consistent product around the world, and symbolizes a lot that I like about us (we are all one human race), as well as things I find worrying (globalization, corporatism).

I had a chat to the other Vietnamese guy who runs the Rendezvouz Cafe. He works in a hotel in the town and is volunteering here as a manager as well as one of the English teachers. We had a more detailed chat about the place and what they’re doing here. They’re offering specialised English classes for people who want to work in hotels and security, as well as for people who want it for communication. He told me that his hotel had closed for a couple of months earlier this year due to the combined effects  of the global economic crisis as well as the H1N1 flu outbreak. He said that the streets of Hoi An had been essentially empty and while his hotel had been at 80-90% capacity this time last year, it had been better for them to close for two months. He said even now, even though the streets had quite a few tourists walking along them, things still weren’t back to last year’s levels. Things must have been very tough for the locals. It’s great to see such people trying to do things to make the community better and wealthier.

I sat there for an hour or so, took some more pix of the house and then went back (eventually) to the lacquerware shop, ordered a bunch of stuff then went back to Cordon Bleu for another bowl of sweet, sweet Cao Lao noodles – more addictive than nicotine and a million times better for your body and soul. Back to the hotel to cool off with a beer and the view.

For dinner I went to Mango Tree on my friend’s recommendation. The staff ushered me out the ‘back’ to where I had a nice comfy seat with a view of the river. The atmosphere was very nice but it was a *dark* room, with barely enough light to make everything out. I had a G&T to start things off, which was lovely and refreshing. The free nibbles were a good idea. BUT when the waiter spilled a couple of chips as he moved the plate when he brought the cutlery, he put them back onto the plate with his bare hands! Errrrrmmmmm….. NO!

I had an entree of Vietnamese spring rolls which were loaded with fresh coriander and came with a mildly spicy peanut sauce. For the main I had chicken which came with a tomato and pineapple based sauce, green beans tossed on fresh black pepper and vermicelli. Splendid. It was a bit pricey, as I heard some customers near me mention, but frankly you’d easily pay five times as much in Japan or Australia for a meal that tasty without grumbling, so why bother here?

After walking along the riverbank and through the streets for a while I returned to the wine bar and had the same as I had the previous evening – upstairs this time. Just as lovely.

I bought one more t-shirt on the way home. I wanted to get a Biere Larue t-shirt so I eventually got one. I had some fun with the girls working in the shops and got some wildly fluctuating prices, so here’s what happened, just to give you an idea of how much you should pay. Near the Mango Tree I tried to get one and the shopgirl’s first offer was 320,000 dong. (That’s WAY too much – about US$20!) I walked. That’s not even worth negotiating for. Near my hotel they asked for 50,000 (about US$3-4). That was much more reasonable – I didn’t even bargain with them. The girls working there were much more fun too. It goes to show you should shop around, oh and just walk if they’re being unreasonable.

I thought I was going back to Hanoi tomorrow so I asked the hotel staff what time checkout was. The lady there asked if I was sure I was leaving tomorrow. I said I thought I was… but she checked and they had me booked for three nights. Sure enough, I checked back in my room and I HAD booked three nights for myself! Awesome! I ought to do nice things like that for myself more often!

I was back in my room and in PJs by 9pm. (I had got up at 5am this morning!) I set my alarm again for early so I could go for a sunrise walk again tomorrow. I might as well since I have the chance and I now know where the action is!

Rice Rice Rice @ Dried goods section

Clean and empty

 While I don’t like buying meat at that market, I love buying seafood there especially prawns and ready-made fish cake mixed. This guy on the left sells that. He didn’t recognized me at first, but when he saw my mother who is a regular, he would just post for the photos for me. How sweet!

I was walking around enjoying the sights and smell of the market, while I was taking photos I would politely asked shopkeepers if I could take photos. Lots of them were surprised that I’m Thai as they thought I was Japanese and either laughed out loud or just continued with what were doing with a giggles to hide their embarrassment.

Pre-packed curry pastes varieties

There are so many things sold in the market, from curry pastes, freshly squeezed coconut milk, meat and pultry, seafood, and fruits. When I need something for my foreign friends, especially curry paste, I would go there and get the pre-packed ones from one of the shops. They make really mean curry pastes so I ended up buying 200 grams of the sour curry paste.

Fresh Curry pastes

Coconut milk milking machine

 As I walked along, I came across a coconut milk selling store. I was pretty fascinated with the machine that they use to squeeze the milk out. This is because when I was young, I remember we squeezed the juice out by hands by adding warm water to the coconut meat. That was so much fun.

These days it’s actually easier to buy coconut milk in cans. The one that I use is called ” Chao Koh” brand which can be found in local supermarket as well as oversea’s Asian grocery stores.

coconuts used for making coconut milk

I think I could spend all day there. It’s so much fun just walking around talking to people there. I’ll have to post the second part of the blog tomorrow. There are more photos to come!

In exporting, there are several ways of managing local marketing.  These include independent agents and distributors, forming an alliance with a local marketing partner, and operating a wholly owned sales subsidiary (Johansson, 2006).  Typically, businesses use independent agents and distributors, and a local partner is often in charge of marketing in strategic alliances.  FDI in manufacturing sometimes calls for the creation of a wholly owned subsidiary that will also manage local marketing efforts. 
 
However, some companies choose to retain total control over marketing in their exporting ventures.    An example is Sweden’s Absolut Vodka, which is an example of pure exporting (Johansson, 2006).  In this example, Seagrams is an independent agent retaining territorial marketing control in the U.S.  So, the company is in charge of marketing in the U.S. even though the company is based in Sweden.  For Absolut Vodka, this arrangement works quite well.  Part of the allure of Absolut is its foreign brand association.  The foreign look and feel of an Absolut ad appeals to U.S. consumers of fine alcoholic beverages.
 
Franchising allows companies to retain a much greater control over marketing efforts in other countries (Johansson, 2006).  Because the product sold by a franchisor is already an established, well-recognized brand name, the marketing will be established and tested prior to market entry.  Considerable money has already been spent on global advertising and promotion, which may include major event sponsorship.  The franchisor provides marketing support to the franchisee including local advertising to sustain the brand name.  Training is provided to employees as well as assistance with production scheduling and accounting. 
 
Product lines and customer service, two important aspects of marketing, are standardized in franchising.  While cultural differences may require slight modifications, the overall standards still apply.  In other words, the company retains a considerable amount of control in the marketing efforts of its franchises because it provides the skills, knowledge, and materials to market its products via franchisees. 
 
In the case of Starbucks, the company is likely to desire control over the marketing efforts in India as well as in other parts of the globe.  Starbucks has already established a powerful brand name that is recognized in many parts of the world.  The company has put considerable effort and capital into the advertising and promotion of its brand and products.  The Starbucks experience can be had in store across the world.  The company should retain control over the marketing efforts by providing marketing materials that are adjusted for India’s culture, but communicate the brand Starbucks has spent years building.  They should provide training in the areas of customer service and operations, and they should recreate the coffee house experience that has made Starbucks so popular.

Reference:  Johansson, J.K.  (2006).  Global marketing.  New York:  McGraw-Hill Irwin.

The Australian share market closed at its highest level in nearly seven months as better-than-expected local and overseas economic data heartened investors and boosted resources stocks.

At the 1615 AEST close, the benchmark SP/ASX200 index had lifted 60.9 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 3955.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 61.7 points, or 1.59 per cent, to 3949.6 points.

The last time the local market had closed at those levels was in mid-November 2008.

The local bourse rose as a narrowing current account deficit and improving trade position raised expectations that the Australian economy had managed to avoid a contraction in the March quarter.

Building approvals rose for the third consecutive month as low interest rates and grants from the federal government enticed home buyers.

Resources stocks have been lifted by data released by China on Monday showing that China’s manufacturing activity had expanded in May for the third consecutive month.

In the US overnight, better-than-expected readings on manufacturing, consumer spending and construction spending boosted Wall Street.

The Reserve Bank of Australia, which kept interest rates unchanged on Tuesday, also said there was evidence the global

economy was stabilising and the turnaround was clearest in China.                                                                                                                            

City Index markets strategist Alex Douglas said the positive data releases over the last few days were driving the market.

‘If we go back to yesterday, there was positive data from China.

‘That was backed up with some manufacturing data in the States overnight which was slightly firmer than anticipated,’ Mr Douglas said.

Locally, the building approvals figures were also positive.

‘So little bits of evidence like that of growth emerging – that’s helping to support the markets,’ Mr Douglas said.

In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton gained 96 cents to $36.70.

Rio Tinto jumped $2.67 to $69.00 after the company announced it had settled terms of iron ore contracts with many Asian customers.

Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum rose 88 cents to $44.90 as it said it planned to retain at least 50 per cent equity in the second and third stages of its Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) development at Karratha in Western Australia.

Santos firmed five cents to $14.90.

Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank strengthened 17 cents to $36.33, Westpac surrendered 18 cents to $18.76, ANZ gave away 21 cents to $15.98, and National Australia Bank gained 28 cents to $22.80.

Investment bank Macquarie Group was up 91 cents at $36.30 as it said it was not aware of any reason or information not already announced that could have prompted a lift in its share price since late last week.

On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 221.11, or 2.6 per cent, to 8,721.44.

In the gold sector, Lihir slipped one cent to $3.30, Newmont lost 24 cents to $6.00, and Newcrest picked up 15 cents to $33.89.

The price of gold in Sydney at 1628 AEST was $US973.85 per fine ounce, down $US10.25 on Monday’s close of $US984.10.

Telco Telstra was off two cents at $3.07, and Optus-owner Singapore Telecommunications shed six cents to $2.50.

Retailer Woolworths ascended 60 cents to $26.00, and Wesfarmers, which owns Coles, was $1.09 heavier at $23.37.

In the media sector, News Corp was 25 cents richer at $14.68, and its non-voting stock improved 20 cents to $12.75.

Consolidated Media lifted three cents to $2.38, and Fairfax gained six cents to $1.26.

Among other stocks, automotive brakes supplier Pacifica Group was steady at 13.5 cents after it said the bankruptcy of car-making giant General Motors Corp in the United States was likely to hurt Pacifica’s earnings in 2009.

The top-traded stock by volume was property developer GPT group, with 74.74 million shares worth $36.4 million changing hands.

GPT was 1.5 cents lower at 48 cents.

Preliminary national turnover was 2.43 billion shares worth $5.85 billion, with 657 stocks up, 412 down and 324 unchanged.

Source www.bigpondnews.com

To Market, To Market

Nongpoh is a district headquarters of Ri-Bhoi District of Meghalaya and is 53 km away from the state capital, Shillong. It is situated in northern portion of the East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya. It is a good overnight resting spot. The nature around this is amazing. The green trees the lovely sky, the sonorous chirping of birds; the peaceful atmosphere of Nongpoh attracts the tourists.

It has abundant supply of decorative stones such as granite. The local market is famous for pet stalls with parrots and mynas.

We woke up not-that-early in the morning.  It’s another free & easy day. We planned to walk around the town and go to Patong Beach in the afternoon.  So, the purpose of today is to get to know the city more, like the building, the local market, the really really local food and to know how the famous Patong beach looks like.

The breakfast, as usual.

Phuket dimsum

This is what he ordered from the lady boss. Looks common but it is too salty. I noticed that food in Phuket is much more salty, sweeter, hotter or what-so-ever than Malaysian style.

It was Sunday morning. City was still quiet. A bit cloudy and good for me to walk.

Here I found Teow Chew Association of Phuket. I am Teow Chew by ethnic.

The traditional chinese culture to put meaningful quotes at the door frame.

Common advertising in Phuket

Here, On On Hotel, the oldest hotel in Phuket. We spent the last 2 nights here.

The price for On On Hotel is cheap.

I found this beautiful water lily by the road.

Artistic door carving

Thalang Rd. Sino-Portugese style double stores houses.  Notice that, most of the house here, the ground floor operate as shops.

A shop which is filled with ancient style.

A wat (temple) near by Thalang Rd.  Do you see the hair-wire cable?

being naughty

Phuket town in the noon.

I notice there is a shop selling ‘Hokkien mee’ but it is soupy. For me, Hokkien mee is the black soup thick mee type. But Hup said, Penang style Hokkien mee, is soupy, like below. . .

It is tasty though . . . especially the coconut drink, I really need a cooling drink in such a hot weather.  We have the noodle twice, and we tried the dry style too. The last day before we left the city, we thought to have it again, but the shop was closed.

Normally, we would share a meal from each shop or stalls. In that way, we can try more choice of food.  Hup was still carving for the ma-muang khao niew (which is mango sticky rice).  My experience was, I had it in a local market.  So, I told him to go forward the local market that we see in the map.  Here it is. . .

Ma-muang khao niew

Fresh mango with soft sticky rice . . .60THB

We finished the tasty mango + sticky rice at the corner of the stall itself before carry on the journey. And then, we moved forward to the really local market at Ranong Rd.  Some taxi driver trying to convience us that, the market is only open in the evening (so that we can go with them for other city view).  But the market open in the afternoon too.

Here, it starts the very local food . . .

The local market

Dried insects . . . should I asked how much for one?

Another one, according to my grandma, this is Siamese food.

A well-maintained cultural building near the market.

If you are aware, there is a Backpacker Hostel in the Phuket City too, located at Ranong Rd.  Yes, it is near by to local bus to beaches and the local market too.  You can view the room before deciding whether to stay or not. We had a visit to the room.  It is cozy and clean. A comfortable and suitable place to interact with other backpackers as there are hall and seats available open to the guest here. So, you know what to do if you are on a budget travel.

Here, we reached the local bus station to the beaches.  Yes, we  have been walking around the city since the morning.  This is the transport we took to Patong Beach.  The charge is 25THB/pax to Patong Beach.

So, you know what to do if you are on a budget travel.

Songthaew to beaches. Some buses has window and some are open like this one.

Someone is showing superhero power.

Da~rang Patong Beach

Here you are, famous Patong Beach. For me, Patong Beach is a commercialized beach which full of people.  If you like place with lots of conveniences, this is a place for you.  But if you prefer peaceful and quiet atmosphere, you may want to opt for some other beaches like Kata Beach and Rawai Beach.

Sunny day

Colorful umbrella

Parachute

Landing . . .

Here we saw a stall crowded with people.  Pad Thai is fried keow teow in Thai.  It looks tasty and we wanna have a try too.

Da~rang. Looks really good right. It taste sweet though as they put a big bunch of sugar into the pad thai.  Besides the ‘extra sweet’, as what the chinese always said ‘it is enough fired’.

And if you know me well, jagung, sweet corn, is my all-time-favourite

Remember the tragedy back in 2004? There is a booth with the tsunami photos. One of the biggest incident in the history of Phuket – Indian Ocean Tsunami.

There is a board with tsunami guidelines too.  I think I have to be extra alert on the ‘all clear’ signal as I would go to beach often.

After the sight-seeing, pad thai and photo taking, we on board the bus back to city.  If not mistaken, it was the last bus from Patong to city at 5:30pm.

Bus runs every 30mins interval, with 25THB/pax/way.  We were early, so there was not many people in the bus yet.  When the bus about to go, all the aunties working at the beach had filled the bus.

The journey from Patong Beach to city bus stop was bumpy. It took around 45mins to reach as it would go around to drop off passengers. I did notice that, for the local, they would charge less, like 20THB.

Now, we were back in town again.  The market has different kind of items at the stalls now.

See this big shell.

And this, prawn?

Fried potato ball. Nice, we had this for 15THB.

Food for the local’s dinner.

yes, it’s getting dark. We walked back to the Mook Anda Place Hotel too. It was tiring but, I am contented.